


making waves

by Hymn



Series: Voltron: Legendary Defender [7]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Post S6, Pre-Relationship, Prompt Fic, Schmoop, UST, a little hurt/comfort, ah i guess i gave shiro a new prosthetic in this oops, back on earth, i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-25 21:45:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14986259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hymn/pseuds/Hymn
Summary: Quirking his head, Lance let his gaze settle on Shiro's tense profile. There were a hundred things he could have said, but in the end he only asked: "Trust me?" Patient, he waited until Shiro looked back, side-eyeing him, to grin and waggle his brows enticingly for added affect.Shiro snorted, rolled his shoulders back and nodded sharply, just the once. “Yes.Fine.”“Great,” Lance said, and then he was off, hurtling down the path, feet kicking up sand and hollering back, “LAST ONE TO THE WATER IS –”





	making waves

**Author's Note:**

> anon asked, "I personally hc shiro is from the pnw, and they don't have a lot of sandy beaches and there's no warm ocean water, so maybe lance taking shiro down to Veradero beach and it's the first time Shiro's ever been in ocean water that's even slightly warm."
> 
> i did some quick prompts for shance day and this got long enough to be posted, i guess; also i have no idea what veradero beach actually looks like and was too lazy to research, so, artistic liberties taken?? **minor changes** from what was posted on tumblr, a paragraph or two added, etc.

Shiro had been wearing a skeptical expression ever since Lance first said the word _beach_ , which was both hilarious and adorable, so Lance wasn’t really complaining. “You’ll love it,” he promised, walking backward down the path that led to the water. They were walking up a ridge, the beach still hidden for the moment, and the sun on his bare shoulders felt _wonderful_.

He felt like he was buzzing beneath his skin – anticipation or adrenaline or nerves, maybe, mixed in with contentment.

Shiro hummed dismissively, stinking of sunblock. But his skin was fair and delicate between the rough edges of his scars, and Lance had _insisted_ on personally making a very _thorough_ application of it. Shiro, mildly sullen, had agreed. By the end of it - Lance’s palms coated in an oily film, but _burning_ at the feel of Shiro’s skin beneath them, following the dip in his spine, the sharp jut of his shoulder, the curve of pectoral - well... 

If they were both a little pink cheeked without even having stepped outside the cool interior of the house it was - was _fine_. Nothing to worry about or remark upon.

_Honest._

“You will, dude,” Lance insisted. “I promise.”

“So you keep saying,” Shiro said, tucking his chin down so he could glower petulantly at Lance above his shades.

…God, Lance was going to _die_.

Spinning the right way around, Lance dropped back to walk beside him. The rest of the team was back at his family’s house, enjoying a lazy day in, but Lance had been determined upon hearing Shiro’s reasoning for never joining them at the beach before hand – that he didn’t _like_ them, because the water was always too cold, and the sand was hard and littered with rocks.

Lance hummed, shoulder bumping against Shiro’s in a slick, greasy slide. “You’ll see.”

And then they reached the top of the ridge, and down and down the path led, through waves of soft, fine sand to the where the water lapped against the shore, darkening it in curious, scalloped lines, glistening blue-green and beautiful beneath a cloudless sky. Lance felt something loosen in him all at once, as it always did, to see this.

“…Okay,” Shiro allowed after a moment of taking in the view. “That’s _pretty_.”

It was. And there was something almost magical about sharing this with – ah... Lance felt his face warm, startled at that train of thought. Lucky, at least, that he could blame the red in his face on the heat of the sun, because it just got _worse_ as he let the thought slowly unfurl to its inevitable conclusion. Showing the rest of the team had been satisfying, yes, but it was different with _Shiro_. Like there was a – a light feeling, soft and warm, that was a little terrifying, too. Intimate, and hopeful, and _yearning_ , he –

“Race you down to the water?” Lance said in a rush, keeping his gaze solidly on the horizon.

“Hm. It’s not –” Shiro huffed a breath, and Lance could just see him shifting in his peripheral where they stood, hesitating. Lance waited him out. “– cold water hurts my scars,” Shiro blurted. “And… the metal. It – _aches_ when it gets too cold. Makes my shoulder stiff.”

“Ahhh.” Lance thought about that – about how Shiro had never mentioned this, not once, not even when they’d been on that planet that was mostly marsh, slogging through chest-deep, brackish water that set Lance’s teeth chattering with chill and ill-humor. About how he was mentioning it _now_ , to him, shared like a trusted secret. His heart ached, squeezing.

Quirking his head, Lance let his gaze settle on Shiro's tense profile. There were a hundred things he could have said, but in the end he only asked: "Trust me?" Patient, he waited until Shiro looked back, side-eyeing him, to grin and waggle his brows enticingly for added affect.

Shiro snorted, rolled his shoulders back and nodded sharply, just the once. “Yes. _Fine_.”

“Great,” Lance said, and then he was off, hurtling down the path, feet kicking up sand and hollering back, “LAST ONE TO THE WATER IS –”

“YOU BRAT,” Shiro hollered back, laughing, and the sound of pursuit followed Lance all the way to the water where he ran in, careless, staggering to a halt knee-deep. He glanced back, and –

There was Shiro at the waterline, hesitating. 

Beautiful and so strong, all of his scars bared, his metal prosthetic glinting in the sun. He stood braced, his back straight and shoulders back, head lifted high in defiance as he eyed the water as if it were a personal foe that would _not_ defeat him, and –

He took a step in.

“Told you,” Lance said, smug. He propped a fist on his hip and cocked it, just taking a moment to watch the way Shiro’s face had gone slack in awe, eyes wide with startled delight. “C’mon, big guy, a little deeper. You –”

All at once Shiro pelted past him, lunging into the waves, flat out _running into the ocean_ while laughing, bright and buoyant and _free_. For a moment Lance just watched him, face almost aching with the force of his grin. His eyes stung, just a little, because – yeah, _yeah_.

Chest deep in the water, Shiro turned around to face him, his sunglasses crooked, hair already partially soaked and slicked back. “This is _amazing_ ,” Shiro said, breathless. “Lance, I – thank you.”

Lance couldn’t help but laugh at him, helpless and happy, and god, he wanted to kiss that man so badly. It was an ache in his chest, bittersweet and fond.

“You’re welcome,” he said, striding forward into the lapping warmth of the water and putting aside his own desires and dreams. They could wait. This moment, here, was about Shiro. About giving him _this_ – this simple pleasure of a bright sun, warm water, and endless sand. Shiro tipped his head back, a dreamy smile on his face, looking so _peaceful_.

Almost a pity Lance was going to ruin it. _Almost_.

“Don’t kill me for this,” Lance murmured, flashing a hint of a devious smirk before diving under the surface. 

With swift, practiced strokes he swam up to Shiro, wrapping his arms around muscular thighs. He felt Shiro jerk in his hold, startled, and hurriedly dug his feet into shifting sand to push _up_ , breaking the surface in time to hear Shiro yelp, delighted and horrified both, as he was lifted into the air, water cascading down off them, and then –

“Heh,” Lance said, when Shiro emerged from beneath a wave, spluttering, hair streaming salt water and shades hanging on only by one ear. “ _Heh_.”

Shiro glared at him, incredulous. Lance winked, shooting finger guns at him and slyly trying to wade farther away, because _god_ , did Shiro look _pretty_ with water droplets sliding down his skin, chest heaving, but -

Shiro‘s eyes narrowed. “…This means _war_ , Lance.”

Yep, he’d known _that_ was coming. Lance squinted against the sun, tensing his muscles, ready. His cocky grin was matched by Shiro, both their faces flushed; Shiro’s broad shoulders shaking just slightly with laughter even as he lowered his center of gravity, rocking slightly in the push and pull of the waves.

“ _Bring it_ ,” Lance teased, only to shriek when Shiro immediately lunged, knocking them both back under with an over-the-top war cry.


End file.
